Critical Condition
by 27elliee
Summary: While searching for Nicole in New York, something happens to Aria. AU from 7x13: Namaste B*tch.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One **

"Don't forget your yoga pants."

"Namaste, bitch."

"Did you do it?"

"Yep, GPS tracker's in her bag. She might not have told us where Jenna is, but now she can show us." Aria walks across the road while Emily stands still on the sidewalk reaching into her pocket for her phone. She flicks away a notification from Facebook before hearing a screech. Looking up she sees someone on the floor while another person gets out of their car rushing towards the unmoving body on the floor. She stares around trying to see where Aria is before realising, the person on the floor is wearing the same jacket as Aria.

"ARIA!" Emily screams running towards her best friend. The sight of her mangled body brings more tears streaming down her face, the pit of her stomach is heavy.

"I love Ezra. Tell him I love him, don't let him be sad and lonely. Make sure he's happy." Aria mutters from the gurney. Emily's mind was completely blank on the events that lead to this moment, being sat next to one of her best friends in an ambulance watching a paramedic trying their best to stop the blood flowing out of Aria's many injuries while another drives them to the hospital.

"You can tell him yourself, you're going to be okay." Emily cries holding her best friends bloody hand.

"Promise me, Em." Aria whispered.

"He's going to marry you, you're going to have a beautiful wedding and a wonderful future together." The young girls smiled at each other, Emily tried to focus on the brightness in her friends eyes and not her friends' mangled jeans which had one of her leg bones poking out through the blood stained fabric near her shin. It wasn't just her leg, trying not to stare but unable to look away from Aria's torso; her red top had been ripped open showing the breaks in her ribs, the bruising painting her ivory skin a vibrant purple with red tinges where blood had pooled from her various gashes, her breathing was laboured and the medics think her lung was punctured, and maybe her spleen as well. Her arm was visibly broken, but thankfully the bone wasn't sticking out like her leg was.

Emily focused back on her friends blinking eyes, her head was encased in a helmet the same that Emily herself had to wear when she injured her head whilst swimming under the influence of her mothers pain medication. She shook the random thoughts out of her troubled mind as she focused back on trying to talk to Aria, to try to keep her awake.

"I'll call everyone when we get to the hospital." Emily promised, not able to think of anything else to say when she knew Aria felt awful.

"I'm scared." Aria whispered squeezing Emily's hand.

"Me too." Emily confessed.

"Tell Ezra I love him. Tell the girls and my parents, and Mike. I love you all."

"We love you too, this isn't the end Aria. When all this shit is sorted with you, with AD we're going to live long happy lives." Emily wasn't sure at this point who she was trying to convince, Aria or herself.

"In case it is, I love them and I love you."

"I love you too."

"Please fight hard, Aria."

"I'll try."

"If not for us, fight for Ezra. You guys are made to be together, don't let this be your ending."

"I'll fight for him, and you guys. I'm sleepy now." Aria muttered sleepily.

"Close your eyes, go into dreamland to imagine your beautiful wedding to Ezra. I'll call him first, he'll be right there with you as soon as possible I promise."

"Will he wake me up?" Aria asked the small stature and weak tone of voice making her sound childlike.

"I'll try my best to make sure he does." Emily replied, planning the earful she'll be giving Ezra the moment she got to the hospital. He needs to be here with Aria.

"I like it when he wakes me up." Aria giggled.

"How does he wake you up? Or do I not want to know." Emily laughed.

"He'll kiss me, my face, my shoulder until I turn for his lips then he'll get my forehead or my nose. Sometimes he strokes my hair and calls me his own sleeping beauty." Aria dreamily says her eyes closing.

"Ezra, I love Ezra. Em make sure he knows. I love Ezra." Aria whispers her eyes closing, the smile leaving her face. Emily's stomach drops, her eyes widen as the monitors attached to her best friend begin to beep one long beep.

Her friends heart had stopped beating.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Emily stood in the ER watching as the paramedics took her friend through the double doors they had told her she needed to stay in the waiting room, someone will update her as soon as possible.

"Come on Ezra, pick up." She repeated once again as she clicked redial for the third time.

"Emily, I'm kind of busy right now." Ezra shortly answered picking up his phone, finally.

"Ezra! I don't give a fuck what's happening in New York or how goddamned busy you are. Your fiancé is in the emergency room, and I'm scared she isn't going to make it. She's broken and covered in blood. So you stop whatever you're doing there and get your ass back here where you're most needed."

Silence.

"Www what?" Ezra stuttered. "What happened?" He was able to mutter, tears marking his unshaven face. Passers by saw the man breaking in front of them.

"We were walking, I stopped on the sidewalk to call hanna. Aria walked across the road to the car. Someone was reversing and sped backwards hitting her at full speed." Emily explained racking her brain trying to remember the events of earlier that day.

"Is she okay, she's not okay. What's wrong with her, I mean?" Ezra stutters.

"She has a broken leg, I mean broken broken. The bone was snapped and broken through her jeans, bruised and fractured, maybe broken ribs, broken arm, her rib may have punctured her lung we don't know, she's in the ER being seen to now."

"No." Ezra whispered almost falling onto the sidewalk of the dirty New York he was currently on, he clutched the side of a building to keep himself upright.

"Yes, so get your ass on a plane. Let us know the details, one of us will meet you at the airport and bring you to the hospital. You're the first one I called."

"I'm sorry Emily."

"Don't be sorry. Be careful on your way here, the last thing anyone needs is you injuring yourself on the way here. Aria's strong. She's fighting for you." Emily replied.

"I'll be on the next flight." He said determined.

"She's in critical condition. I was in the ambulance with her, they asked me to prey for her. She flat lined in the ambulance, twice. But she also was awake for a while and was able to talk. She mainly repeated 'I love Ezra.' And wanted me to tell you guys how much she loves us." Emily finished, wanting the broken man at the other end of the phone to know how loved he was.

"Thank you." Ezra whispered before the line went dead. He turned to face Nicole's father.

"I need to get back to rosewood. If I hear anything about Nicole, I'll let you know. I need to, I need to go." He babbled.

"What you need to do is help me find my daughter." Michael Gordon directed, squaring his shoulders trying to intimidate the shorter man. It didn't work, Ezra Fitz may be a kind and compassionate gentleman but not while he thinks the love of his life could be dead.

"My fiancé is in hospital she could be dying and I'm not there to hold her hand. I've been in love with this woman for over seven years, we should already be married. I have never loved anyone like I love Aria, no one will ever hold the same space in my heart until the day we are blessed with children. If she survives. I'm going back to rosewood and I'm not leaving her side for anyone." The passion in Ezra's voice startled the older man, he thought he had seen Ezra at his worst when Nicole was gone but this is a level of grief he had never seen and the woman was alive and in hospital. Ezra was unashamedly sobbing in the middle of a busy New York Street, his shoulders were moving with each heave in his chest, he was clutching his phone as though it held all the answers to the universe when in reality all it held was flight times back to Philadelphia.

"Go, son. I'll let you know when we find her." Michael said laying a hand on Ezra's shoulder. He knew his daughter was in love with the younger man, that he was her reason for surviving in her hell for so long, she had declared it earlier that day on national television! But Ezra had already found his true love in Aria. Nicole will find hers one day as well, and Michael hoped Nicole will be as loved as Ezra's Aria.

"Thank you, Michael. I'll let you know if she contacts me." Ezra rushed turning towards the busy road.

"Taxi!" Ezra hailed jumping into the yellow vehicle.

Back in Rosewood Emily had just finished speaking to Ella and Byron Montgomery.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Ezra!" Hanna waves her beige trench coat, bare legs and high heels giving off the impression of a lady of the night.

"Aria. How's Aria?" Ezra begs.

"I don't know. How's Nicole?" Hanna snarls, the entire drive to the airport stoked the flames of anger she felt.

"Hanna..."

"I was with Caleb watching the TV when Nicole was doing her interview about how much she loves you and focusing on you helped her. Aria was there too, I watched her die inside seeing that. She could be really dying right now." Hanna glared not caring about Ezra's feelings. Caleb has been poisoned, Toby and Yvonne nearly died, Aria right now is fighting for her life and she's at the airport picking up Ezra when she should be at the hospital with her loved ones.

"Nicole has run off, we were trying to find her when Emily called me." Ezra tries to explain hauling his bag over his shoulder.

"And you came straight back, how nice."

"I know I've fucked up Hanna, you don't need to twist the knife." He growls as they reach the car. Before Hanna can respond her phone rings, it's connected to the car so Ezra can hear as well.

"Hanna, have you got Ezra with you?" Spencer mutters through tears.

"I'm here Spencer."

"She's still in surgery, if she survives the surgery there's a fifty percent chance she'll survive the night."

"Only fifty?"

"Yeah. She has a lot going on. She... sh.."

"Spencer take a deep breath." Hanna commands.

"Sorry. I.." Spencer continues crying.

"Hey, Spence calm down I've got you." Caleb's voice comes through the speakers.

"What's happening with Aria?" Ezra pants through his tears.

"She needs a metal rod in one of her legs, the other one is just broken normally it's in a cast, five ribs are broken, one punctured her lung they're trying to repair it and the ribs, her head has a fracture, her brain is swollen, she's pregnant, one of her arms is broken, another is fractured, her spleen was ruptured so they're removing it. With all the trauma they're worried about the blood loss and stress. If she survives it's going to be a long road."

"She's so tiny." Spencer cries in the background squeezing Caleb tightly.

"How's Emily?" Ezra asks.

"Knocked out."

"Was she hit too?"

"No she was hysterical, even more than Spencer is now, so they gave her a sedative to keep her calm. She's asleep."

"Okay. Look after them, and call us if."

"I will. Love you, drive safe." Caleb says ending the call.

"Are you okay to drive?"

"You're not any better."

"I was thinking taxi or Uber."

"No, we need to go. I know my driving history but it'll take too long."

"Thank you Hanna." Ezra whispers.

The pair fall into bland silence while Hanna navigates her way out of the airport. Once the car glides onto the highway she breaks it remembering her fury from before.

"Did you know a couple of days before her photography exhibit, you know the one you brought Nicole to, Aria got an acceptance letter from Hollis?"

"No."

"Well she did. After the .. dollhouse she felt like life was too short, and even though there may be regrets later she wanted to be with you no matter what. That night I got a phone call, she'd seen you and Nicole in the brew and she thought you looked happier that you had in so long that, she decided she'd rather have you happy without her than miserable with her."

"I never would have been miserable with her, the only reason we broke up was because we knew she should be single in college, to not be tied down to me. To not end up resenting me."

"You don't know that would have happened, and neither did she. You guys fought so hard and gave up so easily. Then you brought Nicole as a date to her photography exhibit."

"That wasn't a date." Ezra weakly attempted to defend.

"It still hurt Aria."

"Then you get back together years later and she feels like the consolation prize."

"She was never a consolation prize."

"That doesn't stop her feeling that way."

"I'm a terrible person."

"I'm not done yet."

"Carry on."

"Aria thought Nicole hadn't been found, she thought you were going to be home. You didn't contact her, left her completely in the dark. That hurt her. She expected you to be home, she called the airline to find out if you made your flight, she thought something had happened to you on the way to the airport. She thought your plane might have crashed. She was watching the news to see if anything was reported about your flight, or you.

She was sick with worry. You never messaged her when you didn't get on the plane. She finds out you're completely fine by seeing you kissing another woman on national television. That hurt her. When you ran to Nicole yesterday, you ran out on your fiancé planning your wedding. That hurt her. When she saw Nicole talking about how much she loves you on tv, that hurt her once again. Don't make this even more of a pattern Ezra, you either want to be with Aria or you don't. But we both heard what Caleb said and I saw the amount of Aria's blood Emily is covered in, her heart has stopped beating multiple times, I'm terrified she won't survive, but I'm even more terrified that she'll not survive if you run out on her for Nicole again. Before we get to the hospital you need to figure out what you want. Aria has a long road to recovery, if she survives, I know she won't be able to handle you changing your mind constantly."

"I'm the worst person."

"No you're not, you're just a stupid one. I'm not telling you this to hurt you."

"It feels like it."

"My intention isn't to hurt you, it's to give you all the information before we get to the hospital, you've been so one track minded you haven't realised what you're doing to Aria. After she saw Nicole on tv talking about you today, she was devastated but told me and Caleb to stop giving her sad eyes." Hanna pauses to wipe away tears. "She looked at me and Caleb and said that we have found our way back to each other and you both will too. Was that blind hope or is there really a chance you genuinely want to be with Aria?"

"Aria is the love of my life. I've never loved anyone like I love her."

"Then, why? Physically she could be dying right now, but inside she already has."

"When I left Columbia, before Nicole was taken. We'd had an argument, I'd stormed off and didn't look back. I bought a ticket to Boston I realised that I couldn't keep trying to replace Aria with Nicole that wasn't fair, Nicole deserved better than that. I knew what I was going to say to break up with her, I already had my stuff packed. Then when I got back I found out she had been kidnapped. I broke." Hanna takes his hand remembering how he looked at CeCe's trial.

"Aria turned me from a grief stricken alcoholic to a functional man, able to write and run my business who's engaged to the love of his life. She's made me happy. Now Nicole has returned and she's gone through so much, I just want to make sure she's okay. I thought she was dead, never to find someone who truly loves her like I love Aria, never to see the light of day. I love Nicole in a 'we had a wonderful time the years we were together' way but I don't want to be with her. I still feel guilty for the hell she went through, I'll always wonder if I hadn't left when I had would I have been able to save her." A weight feels like it's been lifted from Ezra's shoulders.

"That does make sense, but you do realise the way you're acting and your reasons behind it. You're sacrificing your fiancé. If you spend so much time trying to amend what happened in the past you'll lose your future."

"You're right."

"I love it when people say that." Hanna giggles.

"Thank you, Hanna."

"If I wasn't driving I'd have gotten angrier but with my driving track record I don't want to bury another body." They laugh together, it's much needed the tension in the car eases.

"We're all rooting for you and Aria to have a happy ending. We've rooted for you since you first got together." Hanna says smiling.

"All along?" Ezra teases.

"Maybe there were gaps, but you and aria have always made sense together. This is your chance. But seriously don't fuck it up again or we will kill you. We've never planned to kill someone, but I'm sure we could pull it off." She laughs.

"I don't know if I could survive if I lost her. Not like this. She needs to know she's the most important thing in the world to me." Hanna reaches and takes one of his hands in hers.

"You are one of my best friends, like it or not, whatever happens we'll all get through it together. We're a team. All of us. We'll get through it." Ezra leans back thinking to Caleb's words, all of Aria's injuries.

"Did Caleb say she was pregnant." Ezra says leaning forward.

"Yeah." Hanna grins.

"I'm gonna be a father." He whispers.

"That baby is going to be so beautiful, and well read." She laughs.

"How I met her was a lie, but when I first saw her I thought she was breathtaking. I still do. Whenever I come home now and see her whatever she's doing I love it. I finally have what I've always dreamt of: Aria loves me and we have a future." Ezra's grin fades. "Hanna, what if our baby doesn't survive?" Even more tears fall down his face.

"Then you'll do what you and Aria do, love and support each other through hard times." She takes his hand.

"Thank you, Hanna"

"We're family. You've messed her up the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't mean we don't love you." Hanna grins. "Two people who love each other that much, should be together." Ezra grins, thankful it's Hanna with him.

"Why was she in town today? What was she doing?" Ezra asks a while later.

"Putting a tracking device in Sidney Driscoll's bag. We think she's connected with AD."

"What's happened with them?"

"A board game..."

"Spencer only had to meet a friend, and you nearly lost your future. Seems like AD is making it uneven on purpose, to pit you against one another. What happened at the meeting?"

"I didn't go. Caleb was at Spencer's trying to decipher the game when he was gassed, it was boobytrapped. He's at the hospital on oxygen."

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's in the waiting room. The doctors thought considering what's happening with Aria that they can make an exception and have him in the waiting room, they don't want to stress him out by having him alone wondering what's happening."

"This is all too much."

"That's why we have to stick together." Hanna replies.

"Could AD have something to do with what happened to Aria?"

"It's crossed our minds, but Aria hasn't had a turn for the game yet."

"Exactly. It's already uneven so why not do something to throw you all of."

"CeCe said we're her dolls, and that's why she never actually killed us." Hanna points out.

"But this person is avenging AD and thinks you killed CeCe and Elliot so maybe they want to hurt you as much as possible." Ezra finishes, they've finally reached the car park.

"We'll talk when we get upstairs, I'll find a parking spot you go up. Do you know where to go?"

"Yeah." Ezra shouts already out the door.


End file.
